Weds lineup, no Stubbs

*Drew Stubbs is taking a seat again. He is mired a career high 0-for-18 skid, with nine strikeouts.

“I just though Dickerson had a better chance of hitting Kuroda with all that stuff he throws,” Baker said.

*Aroldis Chapman will make his next start for Triple-A Louisville on Thursday at Indianapolis. First pitch is at 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on MLB.TV.

*The Orioles claimed Pedro Viola off waivers from the Reds on Wednesday, then optioned the him to Triple-A Norfolk.

*Joey Votto has four steals in six attempts and seems to have been running more in the past week. Votto is tied with Stubbs for the team-lead in stolen bases. Whether this is team planning or Votto is running on his own, the manager isn’t revealing.

“It’s something I don’t want to expand on,” Baker said. “The other team reads this. It’s something I encourage. It’s something we’ve all been working on. We have guys here with the ability to steal. Joey had the ability last year. He was sliding too early and sometimes didn’t get to the base. He’s worked on sliding hard, leads and jumps.”

Votto was caught stealing in the seventh inning on Tuesday.

“Last night, they tricked Joey a little bit,” Baker said. “He did a real high leg kick the first pitch and the second pitch, he slide stepped. That’s a sign they thought he might run too. Now it’s up to Joey to recognize when they do these things.”

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3 Comments

When did Jonny Gomes become the every day LF? He has a pretty poor record vs. RHP. Seems like the Reds ought to try Dickerson in LF leading off and Stubbs in CF batting lower in the lineup, like 7th or 8th. Gomes defense has really hurt the Reds a few times already this year. I love Gomes’ hustle and effort, but he shouldn’t be playing every day.

I wonder what Dusty Baker would answer if he were asked how he would evaluate the defense of Orlando Cabrera so far this. Well, I guess I know how he would answer that question publicly, but I wonder what he thinks privately. It has to be a huge disappointment. Limited range. Shaky arm. Last night the one “difficult” play he had he pulled Votto off the bag. I wish Paul Janish would get to play a couple days a week (at least).

I really don’t want to be negative, but I can’t hold it any longer. Season is early and the Reds have a ton of games left, but Baker is clueless in managing this team. Do what the Cubs did and put Harang in the Bullpen. Stubbs needs to go back to Triple A and work on his hitting. Gomes didn’t help Harang with that awful throw from the field. I get on my 14 year old for throwing like that. If you are going to use him, you better teach him proper technique. Hitting coach is a joke. He can’t teach Phillips to keep his whole body from flying open. If the Reds want to win some games and keep the team moving towards winning, fire the Manager and several of his staff. rearrange your pitchers, drop Phillips in the batting order, and find someone to play LF that can field and hit.

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